Fluvastatin Converts Human Macrophages into Foam Cells with Increased Inflammatory Response to Inactivated .

Cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitors (statins) protect hypercholesterolemic patients against developing active tuberculosis, suggesting that these drugs could help the host to control the pathogen at the initial stages of the disease. This work studies the effect of fluvastatin on the early response of healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to inactivated . We found that in fluvastatin-treated PBMCs, most monocytes/macrophages became foamy cells that overproduced NLRP3 inflammasome components in the absence of immune stimulation, evidencing important cholesterol metabolism/immunity connections.

Perioperative Management of Patients With Myasthenia Gravis Undergoing Robotic-Assisted Thymectomy-A Retrospective Analysis and Clinical Evaluation.

Objective: Postoperative myasthenic crisis with respiratory failure is a potentially lethal complication, warranting careful perioperative planning and extended postoperative surveillance of patients. Data on the incidence of postoperative respiratory failure and optimal management of patients after robotic-assisted thymectomy are limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence of respiratory complications and the need for intensive care unit (ICU) capacities after robotic-assisted thymectomy in patients with myasthenia gravis.

Tumour immune microenvironment in resected thymic carcinomas as a predictor of clinical outcome.

Background: The spatial distribution of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is a novel descriptor characterising the tumour immune microenvironment (TIME). The aim of our study was to assess whether a specific TIME of surgically resected thymic carcinoma (TC) can predict tumour invasiveness, recurrence or survival.

Methods: Digital microscopy was performed on 39 TCs immunohistochemically stained to investigate the activation of the immune checkpoint pathway (PD-L1/PD-1), along with density and spatial distribution of TILs phenotypes (CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, FOXP3+, CD56+).

Short-term and sustained clinical response following thymectomy in patients with myasthenia gravis.

Background And Purpose: This study was undertaken to investigate short- and long-term outcome following thymectomy in patients with acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChR-Ab)-positive myasthenia gravis (MG).

Methods: Rates of clinical response (defined as minimal manifestation, pharmacological remission, or complete stable remission) lasting for at least 1 year were retrospectively analyzed using Cox proportional hazard models. The occurrence of relapses was recorded during follow-up.

Outcomes with alemtuzumab induction therapy in lung transplantation: a comprehensive large-scale single-center analysis.

Alemtuzumab is a monoclonal antibody targeting CD52, increasingly used as induction therapy after transplantation. The aim of this study was to analyze the outcomes of alemtuzumab induction therapy followed by a low-dose maintenance immunosuppression in a large single-center cohort of lung transplant recipients. All patients, who received alemtuzumab induction followed by a low-dose maintenance immunosuppression were included in the analysis.

Lung Transplantation and Simultaneous Modified Ravitch Procedure.

Lung transplantation is an established treatment for a variety of end-stage lung diseases; however, chest wall deformities such as an asymmetric pectus excavatum are often considered a contraindication for lung transplantation. Consequently, the published experience of lung transplants and simultaneous chest wall reconstruction is limited to a few case reports. This article aims to provide a detailed description of surgical steps as well as technical challenges and pitfalls of lung transplantation with a simultaneous modified Ravitch procedure.

New TNM staging in lung cancer (8 edition) and future perspectives.

Background: Carrying out a correct anatomical classification of lung cancer is crucial to take clinical and therapeutic decisions in each patient.

Aim: TNM staging classification provides an accurate anatomical description about the extension of the disease; however, the anatomical burden of the disease is just one aspect that changes the prognosis.

Relevance For Patients: TNM staging classification is a tool that predicts survival, but we must consider that TNM is just one of the factors that concern the prognosis.

EQ-5D-3L full health state discriminates between drug and placebo in clinical trials of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to investigate the discriminative ability of EQ-5D-3L full health state (FHS) in clinical trials of SLE, and to identify factors associated with FHS after treatment.

Methods: Data from the BLISS-52 (NCT00424476) and BLISS-76 (NCT00410384) trials of belimumab (N = 1684) were utilized. FHS was defined as a response of no problems in all five EQ-5D-3L dimensions, yielding an index score of 1.

Donor ventilation parameters as predictors for length of mechanical ventilation after lung transplantation: Results of a prospective multicenter study.

Background: The evaluation of donor lungs heavily depends on the subjective judgment of the retrieval surgeon. As a consequence, acceptance rates vary significantly among transplant centers. We aimed to determine donor ventilation parameters in a prospective study and test if they could be used as objective quality criteria during organ retrieval.

Ventilation parameters and early graft function in double lung transplantation.

Background: Currently, the primary graft dysfunction (PGD) score is used to measure allograft function in the early post-lung transplant period. Although PGD grades at later time points (T48 hours and T72 hours) are useful to predict mid- and long-term outcomes, their predictive value is less relevant within the first 24 hours after transplantation. This study aimed to evaluate the capability of PGD grades to predict prolonged mechanical ventilation (MV) and compare it with a model derived from ventilation parameters measured on arrival at the intensive care unit (ICU).

Simultaneous pectus excavatum correction and lung transplantation-A case series.

Severe chest wall deformities are considered an absolute contraindication for lung transplantation. The significantly impaired chest compliance associated with pectus excavatum is thought to result in a high risk of postoperative respiratory complications and significant morbidity and mortality. We herein report our pooled institutional experience consisting of 3 patients who underwent bilateral lung transplantation and simultaneous correction of a pectus excavatum.

Predicting transmission blocking potential of anti-malarial compounds in the Mosquito Feeding Assay using Plasmodium falciparum Male Gamete Inhibition Assay.

Plasmodium falciparum Standard Membrane Feeding Assay (PfSMFA) is the current gold standard mosquito based confirmatory transmission blocking (TrB) assay for human malaria. However, owing to its complexity only selected gametocytocidal molecules are progressed into SMFA. Predictive tools for evaluation of TrB behavior of compounds in SMFA would be extremely beneficial, but lack of substantially large data sets from many mosquito feeds preempts the ability to perform correlations between outcomes from in vitro assays and SMFA.

Chylothorax in a 32-Year-Old Patient With Lymphangioleiomyomatosis After Bilateral Lung Transplant.

We report the case of a 32-year-old woman with persistent chylothorax after double-lung transplant for lymphangioleiomyomatosis. Dietary restrictions failed to decrease chylous effusions, making surgical revision necessary. The choice of an abdominal approach and postoperative treatment with somatostatin proved successful.

Surgical treatment of low and intermediate grade lung net.

Background: Carcinoids now constitute complex tumours which require a multidisciplinary approach and long-term follow-up. Surgical intervention is nowadays confirmed as the mainstay of treatment.

Methods: From 1980 to 2015, EMETNE-SEPAR collected 1,339 patients treated surgically for bronchial carcinoid (1,154 typical and 185 atypical carcinoids).

Thymic minimally invasive surgery: state of the art across the world-Europe.

In this brief review of selected peer-reviewed literature on thymic minimally-invasive surgery (MIS) we sought to identify if there is a unique approach to thymic MIS on the European continent.

Treatment of primary graft dysfunction after lung transplantation with orally inhaled AP301: A prospective, randomized pilot study.

Background: Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) after lung transplantation (LTx) carries significant morbidity and mortality in the early post-operative period and is associated with the development of chronic lung allograft dysfunction. AP301, an activator of epithelial sodium channel-mediated Na uptake represents a new concept for prevention and treatment of pulmonary edema and has shown promising results in the pre-clinical setting. This pilot study investigated the clinical effect of inhaled AP301 on patients with development of PGD > 1 according to International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation criteria after primary LTx in a high-volume center and was conducted as a randomized, placebo-controlled, single-center pilot-study including 20 patients.

Lung transplantation for idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension on intraoperative and postoperatively prolonged extracorporeal membrane oxygenation provides optimally controlled reperfusion and excellent outcome.

Objectives: Lung transplantation for idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension has the highest reported postoperative mortality of all indications. Reasons lie in the complexity of treatment of these patients and the frequent occurrence of postoperative left ventricular failure. Transplantation on intraoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support instead of cardiopulmonary bypass and even more the prolongation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation into the postoperative period helps to overcome these problems.

Standard donor lung procurement with normothermic ex vivo lung perfusion: A prospective randomized clinical trial.

Background: Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) was primarily developed for evaluation of impaired donor lungs. The good clinical results raise the question for its possible impact on lungs meeting standard criteria. Before application of EVLP on such lungs enters routine clinical practice, it must be demonstrated whether EVLP would affect or improve outcome when used in standard donor lungs.

The significance of histology: typical and atypical bronchial carcinoids.

The aim of this study is to assess in bronchial carcinoid tumors, the prognostic factors in relation to the histology that would determine their most appropriate therapy. The histologic aggressiveness is a determining factor in tumor size and nodal involvement in these tumors. The knowledge of the histologic limits of typical and atypical carcinoid contributes to the recognition of a better valuation of the proportional significance that nodal involvement and histologic grade have in a tumor's prognosis.

Lobar lung transplantation--is it comparable with standard lung transplantation?

Lobar lung transplantation is used mainly for urgent small recipients who are less likely to obtain size matched lungs in due time. Only limited numbers have been published, and we herewith report the largest series of lobar-LuTX. We analyzed our LuTX database from 1/2001 to 12/2012 and compared the outcome of lobar-LuTX recipients with those receiving standard LuTX.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support for complex tracheo-bronchial procedures†.

Objectives: The published experience with advanced broncho-plastic procedures performed with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support is very limited. We examined our results to assess the risks and benefits of this approach.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed all patients with thoracic malignancies who underwent complex tracheo-bronchial reconstruction under ECMO support in our department between 2001 and 2013.